Wall Street opens higher, buoyed by retail shares

US stock indices opened the first session of the week at fresh record highs for S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite, with the retail sector leading the charge higher, after a strong start for the US shopping season in Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Earlier data showed online US retail sales surged to $6.6 billion last Monday, a record high, while noting that 40% of US retail sales happen in the holiday shopping season there. 

Otherwise, earlier US data showed new home sales rose 6.2% in October to an annualized 685 thousand units, compared to a 14.2% surge in September to 645 thousand, while analysts expected a 6.1% drop to 627 thousand. 

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari is due to speak at Winona State University's Town Hall Forum, in Minnesota, while Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley will participate in a panel discussion titled "US Economy: 10 Years after the Crisis" at the University of California, in Berkeley.

FOMC member Jerome Powell will testify ahead of the Senate Banking Committee to confirm his candidacy to the post of Fed Chair after current occupant Janet Yellen ends her term in February. 

As of 04:42 GMT, Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.09%, or 2.60 points to 2,605.02, while Dow Jones climbed 0.29%, or 69.37 points to 23,627.36. 

Tech-heavy NASDAQ edged up 0.07%, or five points to 6,894.39.